This weekend saw Dive Tribe busy testing there new Shark Ecology & Biology course followed by another of our now well established and scientific shark releases with Seafaris dive center.
Students from Mahidol University in Bangkok and exchange students from California, Sweden and across South East Asia, took part in a short program of Shark Biology. Lectures were given by Marine Biologist Laird Alan and Dr Wayne Phillips. The lectures centered on the Biology of sharks.
Student learnt about the hydro dynamic of sharks, there reproductive system and there feeding behaviours. By dissecting the sharks they better understood the muscle groups that make these creatures such efficient predators in the water and how they consume and digest food.

These students then helped the Dive Tribe team prepare juvenile sharks for the release that was happening the next day. All sharks were sexed and put into their respective tanks and were made ready for transportation to the dive sites in Pattaya.

The course that these students took will soon be available to divers that live ,work or holiday in Thailand. We hope that by giving divers the opportunity to work on such courses and projects we will be better able to spread awareness and teach sound scientific procedures for the care of sharks.

The following day Dive Tribe had an appointment with Seafari's Dive center in Pattaya to release 20 juvenile brown Banded Bamboo sharks from our nursery.
We could feel the excitement as soon as we started to load the sharks and our research equipment on the boat. The trip out to the island was pleasantly calm and the sun was shining, a perfect day for a release !
 A short shark release protocol talk was given by Dr Wayne to ensure the sharks are released in the best places to maximise their chance of survival 
The first Dive was on one of the wrecks and several sharks were released around the bow of the boat away from predators and undercover. As soon as divers came back from that dive you can tell that they not only enjoyed the release but could feel good that they had in a very little way helped address the balance of the sharks in the oceans around Pattaya.
During the break before the second dive , Dive Tribes team were able to talk with many of the divers on the boats and show them how we worked on reef conservation and show them some of the scientific equipment we use to assist us. Many of the divers expressed an interest in getting involved in research dives and with Seafaris help this is something we would like to implement in the future. 

Our second release site was on a coral reef in the far islands.
On this release we had many younger children helping out.
It is great to be able to teach the younger generation about sharks and the important role they have in the sea. Again we had a successful release, with sharks placed in many areas of the reefs and many pictures taken of these great little critters.
We have to thank Seafari's Dive Center for working with us on this release and look forward to offering our full shark /Biology conservation course to them in the very near future. If you would like to learn more about Dive Tribes work, have any question or would like to get involved in marine biology/ecology courses please get in touch with us here 
Again thanks to everyone that was involved in the weekend, we enjoyed meeting and talking with you all
The Team at Dive Tribe